Monday, September 12, 2016

A Centurion’s Request

“After
he had ended all his sayings in the hearing of the people he entered Capernaum.
Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point
of death. When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him
to come and heal his slave. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him
earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves
our nation, and he built us our synagogue. "And Jesus went with them. When
he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to
him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come
under my roof; therefore, I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and
let my servant be healed. For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers
under me: and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes; and to another, `Come,' and he
comes; and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this
he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him,
"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." And
when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.”
Reflection:A Roman official looking for Jesus for a healing request? What? Is this man
crazy? A daring bold move and even more daring he calls Jesus, Lord. This
Centurion was indeed bold and courageous and his faith must have been
incredible, to believe so strongly. He really believes in Jesus’ power to heal
his moved loved servant. Jesus without hesitation gave this man his wish, a
healing immediately as he requested. How can this scripture be explained other
than the depths of this man’s faith? He had no fear of ridicule or backlash
from his fellow officials. His only concern was that his servant was healed by
the Lord he knew would and could heal him.

Can we live a life so boldly and so confident in Jesus’ healing power? Or do we
fear ridicule from our fellow workers, neighbors, friends, siblings? What’s
stopping you from being so bold for Jesus? Just imagine if even a small
percentage of Catholics were this faithful and strong in their faith. Wow! What
an incredible faith we would have and how many more would we be able to
evangelize with such bold humble faith. Think about what kind of witness that
would be. I’m not anyone special, but I wear my faith on my sleeve. Everywhere
I have ever worked I have shared my faith, my prayer life, my love for the
Rosary and well just as much as I share with all of you. I guess I live and
breathe my faith. And yes, I have had ridicule to content with. It never bothered
me. I didn’t care.

We must be bold and brave in our faith. If death be the price, so be it. Jesus
paid the ultimate price, for us. What makes us any different from him. Jesus
did say, “If the world hates you, know
that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18. So we know the cost beforehand,
no excuses. If you don’t live for something worth dying for, then you live for
nothing. Your life has been wasted. So either toughen up and be bold with your
faith; or go latch on to some worldly affair of activities and status and live
your life. Jesus wants all of us, fully and completely. One leg in and one leg
out, not a good choice. You are either in or you are out. I’m just saying. In
the end Jesus decides if the life we lived was selfish or selfless and bold for
Him. Think about it. Remember Jesus knows our ulterior motives (why we really do the things we do). Don’t
waste your life away. Pride and status and worldly security can’t be packed in
a coffin. I pray that you be like this Centurion and have no fear to be so bold
for Jesus. See you all tomorrow.